


Everything, Everything

by quiriusblack



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 12:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17183369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiriusblack/pseuds/quiriusblack
Summary: Caleb has gone dark and turned on his friends. This is the last-ditch attempt to bring him back to the light.





	Everything, Everything

The blue in Caleb's eyes was nearly gone now. The veins in his face and hands had turned black, his form was clouded in shadow, he spoke with a voice that was not his own. 

"LEAVE ME." he roared, the fire blazing around him. It wasn't burning him. More importantly, it wasn't scaring him. If Caleb's goal had been to erase his guilt, he had very nearly succeeded. 

"CALEB." Nott screamed, launching herself into the fray. Caleb clicked his tongue, far too calm, and moved his hands in the air in front of him, sending Nott's tiny goblin form flying with a sickening thud. 

Clay rushed to Nott, Fjord took Beau's shoulder and disappeared with her. Yasha was swinging the Magician's Judge wildly, but found no purchase among the flames, blind in her rage. 

The little blue tiefling stood in front of the body that used to house her friend, her spiritual lollipop floating behind her, her duplicate (or was that her?) peeking out from behind her own shoulder. Caleb, or what was left of him, turned to face her, eyes wild and black. 

Jester clasped her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels. She spun one of the rings on her fingers, desperate to not see Nott's unconscious form, ignoring Beau's frantic voice calling her name. She began to hum. 

This was, as they say in the trickster business, a hail mary. She knew from her mother that music was some of the most powerful magic there was, and she was no bard, she was no charmer like her mother, but this was worth a shot. 

The waltz carried off her voice into Caleb's ears, and he began to remember. The night was blurred by alcohol and by whatever dark force had almost taken him, but he remembered like a flash in the dark, spinning Jester in that tavern, her head thrown back in laughter. 

"Your name is Caleb Widogast." Jester began quietly, moving toward him in the smallest step she had ever taken. "You're a very good wizard, and very smart. You have a cat named Frumpkin and you love him. You're a very good dancer. You sleep better when Nott is there." she took a deep, steadying breath, and took one more step toward Caleb, whose breathing had quickened. 

"You are so good at magic but when we lost Molly you wouldn't use it to bury him. You once wore an octopus as a hat." another step, another breath, the tension thick in the air. Nott barely dared to breathe, Beau had stopped calling for Jester. The lollipop floated ominously behind her, unused. Everyone was terrified to interrupt whatever deep magic Jester was wielding. 

"One time we adopted a little bird and you held her hand and took care of her. Her name is Kiri. She's very sweet." the tears had begun to flow down Jester's face. Another step. 

"One time you laid on your back and let Yasha shave your face with a sword. You trust her that much. And one time, one time you decided it was Nott's birthday because she said she didn't have one." Another breath. Caleb was beginning to look panicked, and Jester pressed on, unsure if Caleb was scared or the force taking him was. Her silent prayers to the Traveler were unanswered. 

"Your name is Caleb Widogast and you've done awful things, your name is Caleb Widogast and we all love you anyway." She was within five feet of him now. The fire blazed around them of its own accord. 

"Your name is Caleb Widogast and you're a part of the Mighty Nein, and we aren't leaving here without you." She reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders. Her greater restoration spell spilled divine light out of Caleb's eyes, nose, and mouth. He collapsed at her feet. She stood, unmoving, her tears evaporating in the intense heat. 

"SOMEONE COME GET HIM." she was frozen to the spot. "WE NEED TO GET HIM OUT OF HERE." now she was desperate and terrified, her eyes darting around the cavern. 

Nott limped over to Caleb's half-conscious body. He reached for her, took her hands in his. "Nott the Brave." he whispered, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "I am so sorry." and Caleb's vision went black. 

Yasha slung him over her shoulder, and the Mighty Nein moved into the light, the new dawn hopefully burning away the last of the evil that had nearly killed them. Everything was different, now. Everything.

**Author's Note:**

> A friend of mine said that he thinks Caleb might be a Big Bad, but that Jester would manage to talk him down. So I wrote it!! Thanks for reading. <3 
> 
> -Marissa


End file.
